In Your Stead
by details.in.the.fabric
Summary: Sig and Kili have known for as long as they can remember that they're meant for each other, and a dangerous quest to conquer a dragon and reclaim a homeland can't change that. Follows a mix of the book and the movies with a few tweaks added in here and there.


Hobbiton was the picture of calm as another spring day came to a close. The weather had been beautifully warm all week, with only a slight breeze to rustle the leaves on the trees and dance lazily with the chimney smoke leaving all the hobbit holes. Most of the residents of Hobbiton were inside their little holes, tucking into a hearty supper. None of them, not even the old Gaffer, had noticed that two dwarves had arrived separately at Bag End and had been let inside by Bilbo Baggins. For all the other hobbits in Hobbiton, this was turning out to be an incredibly peaceful night.

That is until a shriek of laughter rent the air as three dwarves rounded a corner on the path to Bag End, the laughing figure running a few feet ahead of the other two. There was a shout of, "Get back here! Sig!" followed immediately by a string of words in a strange and guttural language no hobbit in Hobbiton would recognize.

The laughing figure, a female by the looks of it, reached Bag End's gate and stopped running. She was lankier than your average dwarf, and her brown hair shone in the fading sunlight. She was out of breath but short bursts of giggles could be heard in her panting. The two others caught up to her and one, who sported long, dark hair reached quickly out for the woman's arm. In her hand she held a pair of trousers, which she had apparently stolen from the dark haired dwarf. His face was torn between wanting to laugh and struggling to look menacing.

"Sig," he growled, taking another step towards her. "Give it –"

He was interrupted by the third and final figure, who had long, dark golden hair, a full beard, and a magnificently braided moustache.

"Stop it, you two. We're here. Just behave for a moment, won't you?"

"Yeah Sig, behave!" said the dark haired dwarf.

"You too, Kili!" said the one with golden hair. "They already think we're too young to be here, the only reason they're letting us join the Company is because Thorin said so. And even he doesn't want Sig here."

"Well if he thinks I'm letting you two dunderheads wander off into the wilderness without me, Thorin Oakenshield is grossly mistaken!" exclaimed Sig, finally having caught her breath.

"I know, I know," sighed the golden haired dwarf. "But just try not to give them a reason to send us all back to the Blue Mountains. Please?" He looked at his two companions, his eyes pleading. When neither caused any more immediate trouble, he pushed open the gate and started towards the door, the other two following closely behind, whispering excitedly. Although he tried not to show it, the golden haired dwarf was just as excited as the others and his hand shook in anticipation as he knocked on the door.

The door opened a few moments later to reveal a hobbit with shaggy blonde hair and an exasperated expression on his face.

"Fili," said the golden haired dwarf.

"Kili."

"And Sig!"

The three dwarves all bowed low and said, "At your service!" in unison.

"Bilbo, uh, Baggins," the hobbit said distractedly. He looked over his shoulder into the hobbit hole, from which the sounds of rustling and muffled voices could be heard. "Uh, I think you, and perhaps these others who are already here, may have, um, well, come to the wrong house, I'm quite sure."

"Not if you're Master Baggins, we haven't! Yours is the name Gandalf gave us at any rate," Fili said.

The hobbit sighed, muttering, "Gandalf," under his breath. He moved back and allowed the three dwarves into his home.

They found that Dwalin and Balin had already arrived and were raiding Bilbo's pantry and making preparations for what turned out to be an excellent meal full of good food, drinking, laughter, and merry-making once Gandalf himself arrived at Bag End with nine other dwarves. In fact, the dwarves were so merry on this night that at the mere mention of "Careful! You'll blunt the knives!" the entire company broke out into an impromptu song. The song had just ended amidst gales of laughter when a loud _thud_,_ thud_ was heard at the door.

"He's here," said Gandalf quietly.

Bilbo approached the door cautiously and, after a quick look back at the dwarves, he pulled it open. The dwarf standing there held himself with pride, his long dark hair and beard moving slightly in the breeze. He simply nodded at the hobbit before pushing past him and entering the home. The other dwarves had gathered around to greet him, and his eyes searched through them until they rested upon Kili and gave him a quick smile before turning toward Gandalf.

"Evening, Gandalf. So this is the hobbit you spoke of?" The dwarf gestured toward Bilbo with his head with a skeptical look on his face. He pulled off his heavy traveling cloak and packs as he spoke.

"Yes, yes! This is Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo, this is the leader of our company, Thorin Oakenshield," Gandalf replied. "Come now Thorin, let's get you something to eat." With that, the wizard led the way into the dining room. The dwarves all took seats with Thorin at the head of the table, Gandalf on his left, and Bilbo standing awkwardly behind them, unsure of his role in this meeting.

Dori passed along a plate of food to Thorin, and the dwarves began speaking amongst themselves while they waited for their leader to finish eating. Thorin was in the middle of chewing a delightfully soft bread roll when he finally noticed the lone female dwarf in their midst, who was chatting happily with Bofur. He dropped the remainder of the roll he was holding and swallowed his food.

"Sig, I thought I told you not to come," he said angrily. The conversation around the table ceased. Although the dwarves loved having Sig around, they had known immediately upon seeing her in Bag End that Thorin would not be happy about it.

"Ah yes, well," Sig said, a teeny bit nervous, "See, what you said was that you didn't _think_ I should come. But there wasn't an actual, outright _no_."

Thorin sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "When we leave in the morning, I want you to go home, Sig."

"Well technically, the Lonely Mountain is home so I can come with you, yes?" she said, knowing this tactic was not likely to work on Thorin.

"I said no!" Thorin replied loudly. "Go home _to the Blue Mountains_! This journey is no place for you, Sig, you're too young and –"

"I'm older than Kili, and you're letting him come along!" she answered, raising her voice.

"- and too inexperienced –" Thorin continued, talking over her.

"I've got no less experience than Kili! We've both been on plenty of merchant trips and we've both had plenty of experience traveling in dangerous lands!"

"- and the Wild is no place for a woman,"Thorin finished.

"Hey! Sig's just as strong as any of us!" Kili said, coming to her aid. "And she's a brilliant fighter, you know that for yourself, Uncle! She can handle it, her being a girl doesn't make any difference."

Thorin sighed again, frustrated. "I already told you, you can't come with us, Sig. As I said, when we leave tomorrow, head back to the Blue Mountains."

"If Sig isn't going, neither am I!" exclaimed Kili, crossing his arms over his chest. He then gave Fili a sharp kick to the shin under the table and sent him a pointed look.

Fili looked from Kili to Sig and finally to his uncle. "Neither will I, Uncle."

Thorin stared at the two brothers, exasperated. Of course, Sig, Kili, and Fili had always been inseparable, but he had never expected this. He weighed his options quickly. Obviously, Thorin did not want Sig in the Company. But he very much wanted his two nephews to come along, for one day Erebor would be under their rule, and Thorin thought they should be present to reclaim it from the dragon.

"Fine, fine! But if something happens to her, be it on your conscience," Thorin gave in, sending a sharp look at Kili, who frowned.

The group was quiet for a moment, then Gandalf spoke. "Now that that's settled, we should get back to the matter at hand!" He pulled out a map and pushed it toward Thorin. Bilbo, who loved maps, leaned in for a closer look.

"The Lonely Mountain," read Bilbo. "You're going to the Lonely Mountain?"

"Aye," said Bofur. "And once we get the dragon out, we'll be moving back in!"

"The-the dragon?" stammered Bilbo.

Bofur cheerfully explained that Smaug, the chiefest and greatest calamity of our age, had stolen the mountain from the dwarves a couple hundred years before, and they were now on a mission to retrieve the Arkenstone and take back their homeland. "And we'll need a burglar to get the job done," he finished, smiling at Bilbo.

"A burglar? Why, yes, you'll need an expert, I should think!" said Bilbo.

"And here he is!" said Gandalf, holding his hand out toward Bilbo. The hobbit looked around, half expecting another stranger to have appeared in his house. But he saw no one and realized quickly that Gandalf had been gesturing to none but himself.

"Me? A burglar? I've never stolen a thing in my life!" Bilbo protested.

"That doesn't surprise me," said Thorin. "Now we'll have two unfit members in the Company." He looked pointedly at Sig, who was slightly offended.

Nonetheless, Balin pulled out the burglar's contract and let Bilbo read it over. The poor hobbit refused to sign it, even after a great amount of encouragement by Gandalf. Finally, the wizard let the matter rest and suggested they all get some sleep, as they had an important day ahead of them. After a bit more chatter and a beautiful, sorrow-filled rendition of the old Misty Mountains song the dwarves often sang, they all laid out their bedrolls and settled down for the night in the many rooms of Bag End.

As was to be expected, Sig, Fili, and Kili had stuck together and set up camp in one of the spare bedrooms. The three were the closest of friends and had been since any of them could remember. You could almost guarantee that where one was, the other two were not far away, although of late Fili had begun spending more time with Thorin, leaving Sig and Kili to get up to trouble on their own.

Fili was soon fast asleep, his soft snoring slightly calming to the other two. But Sig found that she was having a much harder time falling asleep. Her mind wandered from Bag End to the Lonely Mountain to the Blue Mountains and back to Bag End again. She had anxious butterflies in her stomach whenever she thought about the journey ahead. Sig loved adventure, and she couldn't wait to get on the road in the morning and set off.

After a while, Sig rolled over and found that Kili too was lying awake, flat on his back, frowning at the ceiling.

"Kili," she whispered. "Can't sleep?" He shook his head, still looking at the ceiling. Sig scooted herself closer to him and propped herself up on her elbows. "Me neither. I'm too excited, I just keep thinking about tomorrow and getting to Erebor and seeing the Mountain!"

"Yeah," replied Kili, matching her whisper. Sig noticed that Kili was being rather quiet which was strange for the young dwarf, as he normally never shut up.

"Hey Kili, you alright?" She nudged his shoulder with her hand. His eyes hadn't moved from the ceiling.

"Yeah," he said again.

"No you're not." Sig frowned at him. "What's wrong?"

"I was just thinking," Kili said. "Maybe… maybe Uncle was right?"

"Right? About what?" Kili's eyes finally moved from the ceiling and met Sig's. "About sending me back to the Blue Mountains? What are you talking about? How could you –"

"Shh!" Kili put his hand over her mouth, for she had nearly begun shouting. "Just listen for a second, alright? Maybe you should go back. You can come to Erebor once we've got the dragon sorted and started rebuilding it again."

"Why would you say that?" Sig answered, slightly hurt that her best friend wanted to send her away. "You were all for me coming along a few hours ago."

"I know, but … what if Uncle's right? What if you get hurt? I couldn't live with myself, Sig."

"Oh come on, I'll be fine!"

"You don't know that."

Sig sighed and rolled onto her back so they were both looking at the ceiling.

"What if I went home, and you got hurt?" she said. Before Kili could answer, she continued, "Come on Kili, you know me. You can't possibly think I could sit around in the Blue Mountains while you and Fili are out reclaiming Erebor. What would I do without you?"

"Be safe?" Kili suggested.

"Be bored out of my mind, not to mention worried sick," Sig answered her own question. "Think about it Kili, you really want me to sit at home and wait around for months for news of you? I couldn't."

Kili was silent for a moment, then he turned his head toward Sig and reached his hand over to entwine his fingers with hers.

"I know. I mean, there's no way I could stay behind if you were off on some dangerous adventure. I just never really thought about it, you know? The chance that something might happen to you? You've got your whole life ahead of you, Sig –"

"So do you!" she interrupted.

"But I'm a Durin, I have to go. You don't! Even if something were to happen to me, you can still –"

"Don't even bother finishing that, Kili," Sig cut him off again, speaking quietly. "I want to be with you, whether it's dangerous or not." She turned on her side to face him, her chin resting on his shoulder.

They were both silent for a moment before Kili spoke. "I know. And I want you with me." He was quiet again, with a slight frown creasing his brow. "Sig, if we get to Erebor…" He trailed off, then looked straight at Sig and whispered, "When we take back Erebor, I want to marry you."

A wide smile cut across Sig's face. She pressed her lips quickly to his. "I love you, Kili."

"I love you too, Sig."


End file.
